Politics

Democrats Claim “Huge Victory” in Connecticut Municipal Races With no competitive mayoral races in Connecticut’s largest cities, the focus in municipal elections turned to the suburbs, where jubilant Democrats made gains on Republican turf across the state in races for local councils and chief elected officers, fueled by an ambitious ground game. Democrats flipped control…

Attorney General George Jepsen offered a legal opinion that questioned the legality of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to administer municipal aid in the absence of a state budget. But while Jepsen raised concerns about the governor’s plans to reduce special education and sales tax revenue-sharing grants, he offered Malloy and the legislature just one…

Connecticut may not be fertile ground for a white supremacist rally like the one that turned violent in Charlottesville, Va., but the state is not immune to hate. The Southern Poverty Law Center, headquartered in Montgomery, Ala., says there are several active hate groups in the state. Perhaps the leading white supremacist figure from the…

The month in Connecticut started with political drama and a squeaky close vote on a package of wage and benefit concessions critical to shaping the Connecticut state budget – when the legislature can finally adopt one. As is often the case, however, Connecticut’s politics were upstaged by events at the White House, where President Donald…

Connecticut’s prospects of enacting a state budget — even a provisional one — before the new fiscal year begins July 1 appeared to slip away late night on June 26 as House and Senate Democrats were unable to agree on a path forward. After closed-door talks between House and Senate Democrats bogged down over several…

Connecticut’s unemployment rate rose from 4.8 to 4.9 percent in April as the state lost 1,500 non-farm jobs, the Department of Labor reported on May 18th. The jobless rate nonetheless is 0.5 percentage points lower than it was one year ago and the state has added 5,500 jobs over the past 12 months. Private sector…

The Connecticut Supreme Court has denied the state’s unusual request that they speed up hearing arguments against a lower court’s controversial ruling that the state’s way of distributing school aid is irrational and unconstitutional. With the court’s decision not to hear the case the first week of May, the next window for the justices to hear the appeal will…

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s relatively early announcement on April 13, not to seek re-election, gave his fellow Democrats seeking the gubernatorial nomination a crucial head start in fundraising. But if initial Republican responses are any indication, the governor’s decision won’t deter the GOP from making the 2018 race a referendum on Malloy’s record. “I’ve obviously…

Immigrants fearing detention or deportation are trying to be proactive and appoint a guardian to look after their children in case they are detained and are unable to care for them. Randy Capps of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a Washington-based non-profit that analyzes the movement of people worldwide, recently told Reuters that while putting…

While most details of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget proposal have been dissected repeatedly since he unveiled it five weeks ago, one still-looming question could have a huge impact on state finances for many years. Why does that two-year budget include $800 million for state employee raises — an amount that far exceeds anything Malloy…

Editor’s Note: The following story is the second in a three-part series covering a two-hour community dialogue with Mayor Mark Boughton, Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour and Deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Glass on immigration and community relations. We continue the series with the transcript of Chief Ridenhour’s answer to the question posed to…

In light of the recent news stories regarding ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the City of Danbury, Tribuna Newspaper organized a community dialogue and panel discussion with Mayor Mark Boughton, Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour and Deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Glass on immigration and community relations. Fifty community leaders and stakeholders from…

Editor’s Note: The following story is the first in a three-part series covering a two-hour community dialogue with Mayor Mark Boughton, Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour and Deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Glass on immigration and community relations. We will begin the series with the transcript of Mayor Boughton’s answer to the question posed…

Surging debt costs and shrinking revenues alone will force state officials to cut $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion out of the next state budget to avoid tax hikes, according to separate analyses from two fiscal agencies. But the Fiscal Accountability reports from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget office and from the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of…